Realization of my fallibility in Petra

First amazing structure in Little Petra

Ali, my guide was signed up only till Little Petra. He had been suffering from cold and was excited to eat home cooked food and rest for the following few days. I, on the other had still had a week before I could do the same back in the comforts of my home in India. I gave Ali a handy tip hoping it compensated for the unscrupulous conduct of Rami.

Little Petra as the name suggests, is a lesser version of Petra all with a siq and facades and chambers carved into the sandstone cliffs. In antiquity, it was a suburb of Petra, hosting traders who came from far and wide. I left my backpack with the security office whom I convinced to let me in for free. Evidently, entrance to Little Petra is no longer free and comes as part of the main ticket to Petra.

It would have been a 45 minutes ride back and forth from the main tourist office at Petra and the site was closing soon. It was a simple argument for me…all I had to tell the security chief was that it would be incredibly foolish of me to come all the way there and only visit little Petra for free...surely, I was going to buy a ticket for Petra the next day - he quickly relented.

Spending a night in this Nabataean cave

A quick 45-minute stroll through Little Petra was plenty enough. I still had to find a place to stay that night. I got myself lodging and boarding that night in an ancient Nabatean cave now occupied by a Bedouin family of the Amareen tribe.

The backpack off my back and the temperature dropping quickly, I decided to go for a stroll and see the sunset over Little Petra and that’s when I felt stinging pain in the lower-back tendon of my right leg. 

I’ve never had that feeling and shrugged it off thinking its soreness due to the overexertion of carrying a heavy a load through the rugged mountains. I was sure it would go away by the morning after a good night’s rest.

Over dinner I met Ruta and her husband…a quite wonderful couple from Lithuania. Post-dinner we shared our experiences and I was pleasantly surprised and humbled when they gifted me a personally handcrafted piece of art. I have a feeling this is not the last time I am going to see them.

I was not at Petra yet…. from Little Petra, the backdoor entry to the Monastery was a further two hours and this would be the final leg of my hike.

The following morning the pain had not subsided so I resigned myself to suffering through it. I had the easy option of just taking a cab from Little Petra to Petra which is about 20 minutes away via road…but I hadn’t trekked thus far for nothing. Pain or not, I was going on foot all the way to Petra.

The sight that I trekked 4 days for

Customary pic at the Monastary

I was told that to get to Petra I would just have to go behind the mountains and follow 4WD track for an hour until I came up to Nabatean steps carved into the mountain which would be the backdoor entrance via the Monastery - easier said than done. An hour later, I was lost with multiple tracks going everywhere across the sandy surface. I knew I was not too far off the trail but needed to course correct quick. Luckily a brother-sister shepherding team helped set me back on the right track.

Descending from the Monastery to the Petra city center

I’ve never been so slow hiking but the two-hour turned almost to three as I had to rest the foot every few minutes. Finally thought, I made my way up the last mountain and turned a corner and suddenly the spectacular Monastery came into view. Ah…the view and the sense of accomplishment at finally being there washed away all the pain…for a few minutes at least, as I rested gazing at this magnificent structure sculpted out of a mountain side.

After resting for a bit, I continued my way down into the valley towards the main city center of Petra called Raqmu by the original inhabitants of this city. It’s a fascinating part of history how a group of nomads formed this amazing Nabatean civilization, built Petra and then disappeared within a few centuries.

Resting at the Great Temple

I am not going to do justice if I try to write about Petra here…it warrants pages worth of write up so its best I leave it to the professionals. After I am just chronicling my journey through Jordan…not its history.

Medusa carved on a temple

It was slow going but for the next few hours I gradually made my way through most of the must-see sites…the Royal tombs, the Great Temple, Colonnaded Street, and the final masterpieces; Treasury and the Siq (entrance way…I was exiting the way most people where entering). I wondered what the other well rested and casually dressed tourists thought as they saw me trudging with a big backpack in the opposite direction.

Eventually I exited Petra and checked into a hostel. It felt good to take a warm shower, eat well and rest in a cozy little capsule after four days of spartan living. That brings me to my thoughts about this world wonder….

…My personal opinions are based purely on my experiences before, in and after visiting Petra plus having visited some other so-called world wonders.

I think its comparable to a few other world wonders…Machu Picchu and the Pyramids at Giza come to mind easily. Very touristy but a large enough site that you could easily find some pockets of tranquility. The key is visiting (and more importantly exiting) them early before the tour buses arrive and the horde of more laid-back visitors enter the site.

Royal Tombs

Royal tombs carved into the sandstone cliffs

The main valley of Petra city center

I visited Petra again the next morning at 6:30am and got out by 8am and it made for a far more enjoyable experience. Most people recommend spending at least two days in Petra, for me a day was more than sufficient.

"The View" from the Siq

You often hear the phase that the journey is way more important than the destination and this was a classic example. The mountains, the solitude, the breathtaking scenery, the locals who seldom see tourists, the companionship of Ali and a bit of hardship on that 4 days of trekking from Dana to Petra sticks out more than what Petra had to offer and that’s without taking anything away from Petra’s magnificence.

Treasury early in the morning

Sometimes I struggle with my own hypocrisy – I am a tourist but I want a place that is not touristy. I want to experience un-spoilt, un-touched places but I act contrary myself. If my previous paragraphs came off dissing people who travel in tour buses and packages then that’s not the case.

Horse carriage in the Siq

Infact, as I limped my way down from the Monastery through central Petra I had a greater sense of respect for folks who show a desire to travel irrespective of their physical state. That day, the cold hard realization stared back - someday my own body won’t be able take the rigors of hiking and camping. Someday, I will also be one of “them” gradually wading my way through a crowd and resting ever so often to give my creaking bones a break.

For now though, its made my resolve even stronger to camp more, to trek more and to go more places…and to do it now!